I cover my short but diverse history with marking gauges. Includes links for step by step to build you own.

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Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:29:30 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19544baysptbaysptrouter plane #3: Part the Lasthttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19400
Last part of the router plane series over at the Red Dirt Wood Shop. Assembly video and some video of the plane coming to life.]]>
Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:26:58 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19400baysptbaysptrouter plane #2: ought ohhttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19379
part 2 and 3 of the router plane series over at the Red Dirt Wood Shop. In this post we run into a little snag. Stay tuned to find out how we work around it.]]>
Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:08:42 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19379baysptbaysptrouter plane #1: the begininghttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19361

In the process of makeing a router plane. Check it out on my blog at the Red Dirt Wood Shop.

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Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:55:11 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19361baysptbaysptNew bloghttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19342
I’ve started a blog called the Red Dirt Wood Shop. I hope to fill it with all kinds of good knowledge. Be sure to check out my video shop tour and thanks for stopping by.]]>
Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:43:38 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/19342baysptbaysptTool box for the tool box #3: Tool Trayhttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6357
So after the previous attempt I decided to lay off a day and make the tool tray. I wanted to throw in a few pics of my new tools too. Got these two for free. (if you don”t count the many nights spent away from my family to get enough Holiday Inn points for $800 at Lowe’s) This was my first attempt at box joints, and my dado set for the TS cost all of $40. Flat bottomed they are not, but I was ok with them all the same. Took a lot of setup with the jig, but it worked beautiful once it was dead on.Instead of moving the fence when I routed the dadoes for the ply bottom, I used the planer and a piece of scrap to make a stand off strip.Worked like a charm. Used a piece of scrap for testing and snuck up on the thickness of the standoff till the ply fit nice. Made the paddle for the jointer from a concrete float and some self adhesive rubber that my step-father gave me. Something about the scrap from some gaskets they make at work. Got the jointer at an auction, dead on but had to make the fence.Here is my dust collection for the planer]]>
Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:42:46 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6357baysptbaysptTool box for the tool box #2: Prototype # 2http://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6346
Finally got a table saw and thickness planer, and had to use them. Spent one whole day one assembly and setup of the two, then went to the Borg for lumber. Got some nice Poplar and a decent sheet of 1/2” ply. Then I set to work. Rough cross cut, joint, edge joint, thickness plane, rip, edge glue, thickness plane, edge joint, rip to final width, cross cut to length. Hand cut mortise and tenons. Hand cut dovetails. Fit, refit. Rout stopped dadoes for bottom. Cut curve and slot for handle. Cut plywood bottom. Time for glue up. Rush, rush, rush. Find out the bottom is a little too wide, find out the handle is a little too long. End result, functional but not too pretty. The ends are bowed slightly due to the center part being too long. How did this happen? I used the stock to mark for the tenon length, and then set my marking gage to layout the dovetails. Used two different “tools” to lay out the same thickness. “D-oh” comes to mind. And the bottom? Relied on a measurement (which was too close anyhow for a “floating panel”) instead of fitting the bottom to the piece. So my buddy came over last night, and brought his truck. He was really pleased with the results, since he couldn’t see the huge gaps everywhere like the guy who built it can. We test fit it in his tool box, and (thank the woodworking gods) we decided (with my steering since it wasn’t that much lumber and not expensive at all) that is was too big to get it in and out easy. “Whew”. Now the wife has already decided how she can use the one that is built, (in an inconspicuous part of the house), and I have the chance to remake the one for my buddy. I also got the measurements for the “sliding tray” that he wants me to make to replace the plastic one that cracked and broke long ago. I will try to add some pics later, but now its time to go get more wood, “working on grain matching this time too” and give it another go. Hope it comes off better this time, with many good lessons learned.]]>
Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:04:30 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6346baysptbaysptTool box for the tool box #1: Intro and Prototypehttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6121
Since my first attempt at this blog seems to have been lost here we go again.A friend of mine saw a pencil box I was working on out of red oak (my first attempt at dovetails) just for practice, and instantly wanted me to make him some stuff. ”We can make this and that for me.” After some discussion we settled upon a Tool Tote for his truck tool box. He is a network IT type guy who sets up networks for business and the like so he often has to carry tools and stuff from his truck into the job site. After poking around a little, I found a design I liked in Woodworking Magazine and made some mental tweaks.I still have to measure his truck tool box to get the final dimensions but I am thinking somewhere in the area of 12” wide x 24” long by about 10” tall. 1/2” poplar to cut down on weight. I got a 6” bench top jointer at an auction, and hope to buy a planer when I get back from Russia (I leave tomorrow) at the beginning of next month. So this weekend I bought some 3/4 poplar just to try the wood and the joints to make sure I was able. So here are some shots of the Prototype.
I made allot of use of my shooting board (shout out to Matt over at Matt's Basement Workshop for getting me into shooting) (shout out to my wife for the #5 plane she picked up for $13 at an auction. It also came in a box with a nice old brace and bits (about 12). It took a lot of time and elbow grease (and sand paper and Naval Jelly and paint and lapping and sharpening) to get her back to order but man is she a good user (the plane is nice too <g>)I also used an off cut to make a jig to shoot the angles. worked like a charm as you can see by the bevel. Exact 22.5*When you remove .001” at a time you can make two pieces exactly the same too.I hope the rest of this series will cover the rest of the research through the design and build. I am thinking of making 4 or 5 since he wants one for him and one for his dad. I want one and can think of a few other people who sure wouldn’t turn one down. As soon as my project is posted on this I will link to it to see the finished project.Sorry the pics are such low quality. I took them with my phone. You would think that since my wife is a photographer I could muster some better shots.]]>
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:57:03 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/6121baysptbaysptFirst real project everhttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/4313
Well, ladies and gents, I just finished my first real project, ever. I built a plywood box once with my dad (model car paint booth), and I made a poplar frame for the area rug I keep in the garage, but those don’t really count. Today, after watching an episode of “The Router Workshop” on The woodworking channel, on trivets, I decided to make one. I had some 3/4 by 7 1/4 poplar in the attic that I got from the big box store. I had just finished my miter gauge (from Gord's plans, thanks Gord) and thought this would be a good project to take it for a spin. I am writing this sort of like a how to (or better yet a how not to) since I took the pics along the way so I could get everyone’s input on all the things I am sure I did wrong. Just remember this is my first ever project. Not first on LJ, first ever.

My first process was to take the lumber to my miter saw and cut it to rough length. And here is a better pic of my cross cut sled fro my wonderful cordless Ryobi that my wife got for my last birthday.The next process was to setup my jointer to joint one edge. I used a piece of scrap MDF to double check the setup. I jointed one face, and then scribed a line. I then made about 4 more passed and scribed another line, checking to see that the two lines where parallel. I think this will make sure you don’t have any taper due to improper setup. I then jointed one edge for a referance.Then with one straight edge I went to the table saw to rip to rough width. To setup my fence, I layout lines to set the fence to then I double check with the combo square against the back edge of the fence from the jointed edge.Then it was time to square one end of the stock so I could reference my other cross cuts. For this I used my 90* sled and my fence with a stop block. I set the material against the sled and the stop block and run it trough, nibbling away until I have a nice square end.Here is a close up of the sled. About 2 min after this picture was taken I added sand paper to the top of the sled (let’s just say lesson number one). In hind sight I would have made this sled with a taller fence (its only about 1/2 now). This would help steady the work and back up the cuts.Next I went back to the cross cut sled and cut off my first piece leaving it a little long. Then back to the sled to get down the final dimensions all around. I then cut the other piece for the trivet, and used double stick tape to attach it to the first piece alternating the grain direction. I then used a flush trim bit to make the two pieces match. Then I applied glue to one face and clamped them up (where I learned lesson number 2) In hind sight (since it’s 20/20) I should have skipped the double stick tape step and glued first then flush trimmed (duh) Hence the clamp monster (that I forgot to take a picture of) and not really having enough clamping pressure on the two faces since I was using 3 of my 5 clamps to align the two pieces (which was still not perfect) Then it was back to the flush trim bit for a final clean up (yes after the glue was dry) Then I used a 1/4 round over on all corners. Then I got out the miter gauge and squared it to the slot. It just so happens that my engineer’s square’s base is exactly 3/4 and fits VERY snug in the miter t- track. I then used a known square block of MDF to off set and set square. I then used an aux fence and a 1/4 straight bit and made a pass through the fence.I then moved the fence over 3/4 (using the stop block and setup blocks) just like you might for a finger joint jig except then you should just move over 1/2 (and look at me acting like I know what I am doing). I then installed a bit of 1/4 key stock to act as an index pin. I made a pass at all the cutout positions at about 1/4 bit height then raised and passed again etc until all was done. I then looked at the cut and realized that it looked like crap since even with the index pin it didn’t turn out to be in the exact same spot every time and so it left a lot of milling marks. (Lesson number 3) So I thought why not just try and take the whole 3/4 at once. D’oh I said as the milled piece goes shooting off. It seems that (a) you shouldn’t try to take that big of a bite (yes I already knew that I guess I just needed to learn the hard way like everyone else) (b) my glue joint was not strong because that is what failed (back to lesson number 2) and (c ) having to re-plan because of such a major bone head move sucks. (That would be lessons 4, 5, and 6) So I removed this row and ended up with a short side with a square end (since I couldn’t round it over now as all of the end grain would chip out). To solve the mill marks problem, I made the same passes as before but on the same slot until it was done, then moved to the next. The mill marks were not completely gone but much less prevalent. I then sanded starting at 60 and working to 220. I made this little device for the bottoms of the slots. (yes that is my index key with sand paper double sticked to it). I was wondering if anyone had a better way of sanding the inside of something like this. I did the best I could but I am sure there is an easy way. I then finished with tung oil. It isn’t perfect but I thought I would give it to my mother. (Mothers always think it’s perfect if you make it for them. I found that out a long time ago) All in all I think it turned out ok. I enjoyed the process (even if it was close to complete failure) and learned a lot along the way. Now it’s your turn to teach me. Please feel free to comment and tell me all the good nuggets of info I missed. Sorry for all the pics and the long post.The wayward wood worker

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Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:47:29 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/4313baysptbaysptWish I had a chain sawhttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/4144
Well on my way from Sao Paulo to Campinas, Brazil, I thought I would pause to take this pic for everyone. Can you imagine all the teak and brazilwood and mahogany and brazilian cheery and santos rosewood and …. that are in this picture of the Amazon (rain forest not .com) The people hear burn teak for firewood. Where is my chain saw. Of course as a resposible member of society I have to say save the rain forest but man what some of you could do with that wood (especially if it was firewood price) Sorry all for the quallity of the pic, best I could do from a camera phone from a moving vehicle. I am buying the wood for the bookcase when I get home (after I go to Santiago, Chile). Sure wish I could have spent Sunday in my shop instead of in a crumby hotel room (with teak floors and dark stained teak trim btw) I guess teak is the Brazilian Pine. Have fun all it’s time for me to get some work done.]]>
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:04:52 GMThttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/4144baysptbaysptTo dream a dreamhttp://lumberjocks.com/bayspt/blog/4103
Brand new to the wonderful world of wood working (well almost), and thirsting for knowledge, I turned to my old, not so faithful friend, the World Wide Web. I went looking for how to videos (for free of course) and stumbled upon The Wood Whisperer. After watching every episode (most of which where way beyond my level but still easy to understand) I heard mention many times of LumberJocks.com, so I decided to check it out. After spending a down day in Sao Paulo, Brazil (on business mind you not pleasure) reading the forums, watching the videos, etc I decided to no longer be a shadow like I had done with previous forums but instead become a member. Then I noticed that I could write a blog as a member (very well put together site I might add) so I decided I would spend this time that I should be using to catch up on paper work to instead write about my current dreams as a wood worker. So without further delay here we go.(I know I said without further delay but) Just one side point- I like to use these ( ) allot in typing as an aside in the middle of sentences, hope it doesn’t bother anyone (or my perfect spelling and superb use of the English language) Feel free to comment about anything I say and remember I have no stinking clue what I am talking about and please tell me so (if you have a viable solution instead of just “your wrong”)

My first real project-I convinced my loving wife to let me have the router (PC 694vk) and router table (woodpecker 24”x 36”) (because what good is one without the other (or so I told her)) with the promise that I would build my almost 5-year-old son a bookcase for his room. (She really wants a set of 2 matching book cases for our living room but I think she is trying my skill (I have none per say) in a little less visible part of the house)) He is rapidly outgrowing his old storage system for books as he is learning to read and needs a “big boy book shelf” (and my wife wants his current one to put in the babies room before the baby to be is put in there in June) So a couple of months ago I made a basic design in Sketchup (and had it approved by the boss). I did the research on sag using a neat online calculator I found in a magazine that I can’t seem to remember where I found it now (in the mag or on the web). I am planning to do it in 3/4 clear pine (from the big box store (yea I know)) with an amber lacquer finish, so it will match the other furniture in his room. It seems a bit hefty of a project for me but like TWW and numerous others have said you really learn when you challenge yourself. I plan to make all the joints hidden for a nice clean look and if I can figure out how I will add Sketchup pics. My plan was to joint two 1×8s for the carcass (using my homemade router table jointer fence which works surprisingly well) with a spline of 1/4” ply as a glue joint. Then rip these to 12”. I would use stopped lap joints for the carcass. Then using dadoes for two of the shelves and sliding dovetails for the top middle and bottom I would use 1×12s for the shelves stopping the dadoes and dovetails 3/8 from the front edge. I would then use a sheet of 1/8 paneling (with rabbits in the carcass) for the back. My reasoning for the dovetails is glue up. Since my biggest clamp is 24” (I have one) and the rest are 18” (I have 4) I thought I might have a little trouble with clamping at glue up. The idea was that three nice tight sliding dove tail shelves should hold the project together nicely for final assembly. Now my concern is fitting six 11.5-inch long sliding dovetails (read as “it’s a good thing I am using pine and pine is fairly cheap”). I hope to add pics from Sketchup of the design so you can have at it. Any input would be appreciated (but before we get to that, yes I know it’s pine, and yes I know I need more clamps and “the proper tools for the job” but the wife wants pine and the budget (dictated by the wife) doesn’t want more clamps). I was thinking of doing tapered dovetails but have no idea how to accomplish them. I guess more research is in order. Thanks for reading, and maybe I will do a series on the wayward ways of the beginning wood worker trying to make a simple bookshelf. Sorry for the long post and hopefully I can add pics since the really do say a thousand words.Jimmy (the wayward wood worker)